Man initially labeled as Dallas shooting suspect fights to clear his name

DALLAS - A man who was carrying a rifle and wearing camouflage during the march in Downtown Dallas wants his name cleared after police released his picture on social media and initially labeled him a suspect.

Mark Hughes was one of the people involved in the massive, but peaceful, police brutality demonstration and march Thursday night. Several videos show Hughes marching in the crowd.

“I decided to exercise my second amendment right and carry my firearm,” he said.

But when shots rang out and officers went down, the crowd scattered for cover. That’s when Hughes’ brother found him and warned him about what happened.

“Corey came to me and was like, ‘Mark, give your gun to the police officers,’” he recalled. “My first instinct was why am I giving my gun away? And he was like, ‘They’re shooting out here. They’re going to kill you.’”

Hughes says he gave his gun to an officer and got his card to get back his gun later. When his friend called and told him news sources were showing his picture and calling him a suspect, he became concerned and took off his camo shirt. He later turned himself in.

“I have a problem. My face is being plastered over the news as a man that is a suspect,” Hughes told an officer at the scene.

Hughes was taken to police headquarters and was interrogated by homicide detectives for a couple of hours.

“He came in and told me they had video. Told me they had numerous witnesses that saw me shooting my gun,” Hughes said. “That’s when I let him know that basically he was lying.”

After that, Hughes said he called his lawyer. A short time later he was released but said he’s still being victimized.

“When you Google Mark Hughes, the very first thing you see is me with a gun and being associated with this event,” he said.

Hughes said he has received hundreds of death threats and wants it rectified somehow. His lawyers haven’t said what kind of lawsuit, if any, will be filed but did say they believe his civil rights were violated.